Description:

New York Town Provides for a Bastard Child

In this document, two justices of the peace in Putnam County, New York, located between the Hudson River and the Connecticut border, order Harry Warren (1804-1851), the father of an illegitimate child, to pay $19 for costs associated with the child's birth and an additional 37½ cents per week to the overseers of the poor to prevent the care of the child from becoming a financial burden on the town of Philips (now Philipstown). They also ordered that if the mother, Maria VanVoorhis, did not take care of the child, she would also have to pay 37½ cents per week to the overseers of the poor.

[BASTARDY.] John Garrison and Cyrus Horton, Document Signed, Order, May 1, 1821, Philips[town], Putnam County, New York. 2 pp., 9.5" x 15". Expected folds; paper seals attached after signatures; some toning; very good.

Excerpts:
"The Order of John Garrison & Cyrus Horton Esquires two of the Justices of the peace in and for the said County, Both residing in the Town of Philips in said county, made the first day of May (one thousand eight hundred & twenty one) concerning a Male Bastard Child lately Born in the Town of Philips aforesaid of the Body of Maria VanVoorhis Single woman"
"Whereas it has appeared unto us...that Harry Warren of the Town of Philips in the said County yeoman, did beget the said Bastard Child on the Body of her the said Maria VanVoorhis and whereas the said Harry Warren hath appeared before us in Persuance of our summons for that purpose but hath not shewed any sufficient cause whey he the said Harry Warren shall not be adjudged the reputed Father of the said Bastard child, we therefore upon Examination of the matter of and concerning the premises as well upon the oath of the said Maria VanVoorhis as otherwise do hereby adjudge him the said Harry Warren to be the reputed Father of the said Bastard Child and thereupon we do order as well for the Better relief of the said Town of Philips as for the sustaintation and relief of the said Bastard child that the said Harry Warren shall and do forthwith upon notice of this our order pay or cause to be paid to the said overseers of the poor of the said Town of Philips or one of them the sum of nineteen Dollars for and towards the lying in of the said Maria VanVoorhis and the maintenance of the said Bastard child to the time of making this our order."
"we do also hereby further order that the said Harry Warren shall likewise pay or cause to be paid to the Overseers of the poor of the said Town of Philips for the time being or one of them the sum of thirty seven and a half cents Weekly and every Week from the day of the date of this present order for and towards the keeping sustaintation and maintainance of the said Bastard child for and during so long time as the said Bastard child shall be chargeable to the said Town of Philips and we do further order that the said Maria VanVoorhis shall also pay or cause to be paid to the said overseers of the poor of the said Town of Philips for the time being, or to some one of them the sum of thirty seven and a half cents Weekly and every Week so long as the said Bastard Child shall be chargeable to the said Town of Philips in case she shall not nurse and take care of the said child herself. Given under our hands and seals the Day and year first above Written
Jno Garrison
Cyrus Horton
"
"may the 18th 1821 received on the within order the sum of Nineteen dollars received by me
Nathaniel Cole / Overseer of poor
"

Historical Background:
The American colonies established bastardy laws largely based on the English common law. In the colonial period and into the nineteenth century, each town's overseers of the poor provided aid to those in need, including bastard children. Generally, overseers of the poor used the courts to ensure that fathers paid financial support to mothers or the ones in charge of the bastard child. Although the father did not have to pay any financial compensation to the mother and the amount was hardly adequate to care for the child, the amount provided some relief for the town and the mother.

In 1824, a report by New York Secretary of State J. V. N. Yates made several observations about how the poor laws of New York operated and proposed several reforms. In response to the Yates report, the New York legislature passed an act requiring many counties to erect poorhouses, where the poor could be housed and fed. It also shifted responsibility for the care of the poor from the town to the county, although legislation twenty-five years later reversed the responsibility back to the towns.

John Garrison (1795-1867) was born in Putnam County, New York. He conducted a ferry between Garrison Landing and West Point, which in 1854 was converted to a steam ferry as a stock enterprise. Garrison served as judge of the Court of Common Pleas and represented the county in the state legislature in 1833. He held several local offices, including supervisor of Philipstown (1828, 1834, 1841, 1851), coroner (1829), and justice of the peace for many years.

Cyrus Horton (1784-1832) was a merchant in New York City, until failing health caused him to return to his family's home farm in Putnam County. There, he became a successful farmer, justice of the peace, and vestryman of the Episcopal Church at Van Cortlandville.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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